Posted on Sat, Nov. 22, 2008
The Phillies' World Series glow is barely starting to fade, and already the disrespect has begun.
But you knew it was going to happen.
It's no disgrace for Ryan Howard to lose the MVP award to Albert Pujols. But let's backtrack.
Just two years ago, when Howard also led the majors in home runs and RBIs, he won the award, prompting the following words from runner-up Pujols: "Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't deserve to win the MVP."
Pujols later softened his stance, but, oh, the irony now, Pujols winning it after his Cardinals failed to make the playoffs this season, finishing fourth in their division.
But the bigger crime this postseason was Charlie Manuel's being snubbed yet again.
Lou Piniella, manager of the year? Are you kidding me?
OK, I know, the voting is based on the regular season only, and the Cubs had the National League's best record in the regular season.
But preseason sports books had the Cubs at 12-1 to go all the way, while the Phillies were 18-1. The Cubs
should have finished with a better record.
Manuel is calm and cool under fire, beloved by his players - and (at last) the fans as well. Piniella? He
is the fire, beloved by . . . ummm, let me get back to you on that one. You can't spell "loud" without L-O-U. He even made a TV commercial in which he goes out and screams
compliments at the umpire. This is not a man with an unfair reputation. He has earned it.
The Phils finished first because of Charlie's calm, guiding hand. The Cubs finished first
despite Piniella's fire and brimstone.
So take a deep breath. We've been dissed before. Tell yourself it's just like the Oscars: It has no bearing whatsoever on reality. . . .
The MVP and manager-of-the-year awards are icing on the cake. But this year, Philadelphia owns the cake. And really, that's all that matters.
Perhaps you noticed the story last week about the thieves who stole a boxing ring in Toledo, Ohio. In a sport in which one often suspects fights are being stolen, we now have a case when the entire ring has been taken.
So who would take a whole boxing ring? And
why? What, you can't rope off a square area and throw some punches? And how do you get a ring out of the gym? And how do you fence a ring? And what do you call a pack of thieves who do such a thing? A ring ring?
Anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of said ring was being urged to give Toledo police a, um, ring.
Betting is an inexact science, to say the least. Everybody has a favorite system for picking winners, but here's one with legs. This prognosticating curiosity is a 2,600-pound Bactrian camel named Princess, who lives at the Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township, N.J.
(A Bactrian camel is the kind with two humps, as opposed to the single-hump dromedary.)
PHILLIES SCOREBOARD
Photos: World Series Parade 
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